


reverse heel-turn

by scorpionGrass



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon Fix-It, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22283170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpionGrass/pseuds/scorpionGrass
Summary: Somehow, they both make it out of Exegol. Kylo Ren, however, has some concerns.aka: Kylo Ren gets his Zuko moment
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	reverse heel-turn

Kylo Ren stares at the X-Wing. Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing, according to Rey, who throws him a shoddy caved-in helmet as she fastens her own, standing on the wing and trying to figure out how they’re going to sit in a one-man ship.

“Well, I’m driving so you sit down first and we’ll just push the seat back and lower it a bit to compensate,” Rey decides pragmatically, as if they hadn’t just kissed passionately in the heat of the moment ten minutes ago. Though she definitely remembers, considering the flush to her cheeks has become semi-permanent. Which is, definitely something.

“And that’s safe?”

Rey gives him a look. “Has anything we’ve done in recent history been safe?”

He can’t argue with that, so he climbs up and in and when Rey sits on his lap, he tries very hard not to be weird about it. After all, this is their only way out of the hellscape that is Exegol and his desire to leave it to rot is stronger than how awkward he feels.

After some trying, it’s clear that the safety belts don’t fit around the both of them, so Rey suggests he hold on. As she flicks some switches and starts the X-Wing up, Kylo carefully curls his arms loosely around her middle, feeling every bit the teenage boy he forgot to ever be.

“Where are we going?” he asks, because while “out of here” might be an acceptable answer for him, he’s sure that Rey has an actual destination in mind.

“The Resistance camp. Everyone will be waiting,” she says, almost breathless with how excited she is. “We did it, Ben.”

Kylo wants to share her excitement. Really, he does, but the Resistance? The one he’d hunted down and attacked time and time again? The one he’d been a threat to despite it being led by his mother? He’d killed so many of them, he’d doubt he’d get a welcome of any kind from them unless it involved guns. Probably pointed directly at his face.

“You did it,” he says instead.

She turns to smile at him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

They’re in space now, surrounded by stars and the thousands of civilian and Resistance ships, all making the jump, each creating its own beam of light as they shoot across the galaxy to the camp, or to their homes.

“They don’t know that.”

“They will,” Rey says firmly, but her hand hovers over the bar that would send them into warp speed.

Kylo Ren takes a deep breath. “So I’m just going to walk in and say… what exactly?”

Her hand draws back from the bar and she frowns. “Okay, I see your point,” she says with a sigh, gripping the control instead and slowing the X-Wing down. “Uh… would you like to practice an introduction?”

He stares at the nape of her neck. “An introduction,” he says flatly.

“Yes? I mean, if you have a better idea--”

“I don’t.”

“Okay then.”

Rey leans into him, her back pressed against his chest, and tilts her head up against his shoulder. “So, monster,” she says, with none of the venom she’d injected into the word before, “what do you have to say for yourself?”

Her smile is almost playful, and somehow he feels like she’s laughing at him.

“Hi,” Kylo starts awkwardly. “Uh, Ben here. Though you might already know me as Kylo Ren? Former Supreme Leader?” He pauses, feeling stupid. “Anyway, there are many smaller splinter groups who might attack you now that the main fight is over, and I have a lot of skills that I can lend to the Resistance to help in that fight. Or, well, you know, since you’ve seen them while I was attacking you. Ugh, I guess I should apologize for that… But anyway, I’m good now.”

There’s a long pause before Rey bursts out laughing, so much and so loudly that it rattles the cockpit.

“That was… something,” she says finally, when she’s calmed down. One of her hands covers his own, linking their fingers together as the X-Wing continues its drift through space. “I could always just say you’re with us now? They might think I’m crazy, but they’ll figure it out.”

“Your friends won’t have any concerns?”

“They’ll probably threaten you a little,” Rey says with a shrug, but her smile is infectious and he can’t help but see the ridiculousness of it all. “Take you aside, puff up their chests, and say some big words.”

Somehow, knowing that’s all he’ll really have to worry about, the Resistance camp seems less like a horribly misguided idea. But then again, after all this, whether he’s Kylo Ren or Ben Solo, he doesn’t have any qualms about following Rey to the ends of the galaxy.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks steph for listening to me spiral down into this stupid idea at two in the morning after i saw the rise of skywalker and got emotional because KYLO REN DESERVES TO LIVE.
> 
> (also ty @ avatar: the last airbender for blessing us with such a good redemption arc i love zuko)


End file.
